Hi all !

I'm having a problem with HORRIBLE musty/mildew smell when the A/C is on and now when the A/C is off (when it's humid outside). From what I see it's a tricky job to clean the evaporator on these Acura cars because of potential of destroying the main computer for the car on the passenger side of the center console.

On the 3G RLX section there's a thread with numerous people cleaning the evaporator with Nextzett Klima Cleaner without incident by sticking the can's hose through the blower motor. Does this sound like the best way to do this? Seems like there isn't a huge amount of information on doing this on Acura TLs.

Was hoping to get a bit more 3G TL specific info/moral support. lol It's been doing this since October 2023 and been living with it since it was only when the A/C was turned on but now that spring in Oklahoma is here and humidity is up it's happening even with the A/C off now so I'm forced to do something at this point.

Thanks for any help !

This is the thread referenced: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rlx-...-klima-932563/

PS The filter is not the problem. Put it in 2 years ago and is out of the car and has zero smell and not dirty at all. Car is garaged all the time and low miles (2008 TL with 44k miles). Have a new filter ready to put in.

ETA There's a video showing how to get the blower unit off and doesn't look too hard. Doesn't appear to be necessary though from what I'm seeing in that thread...

 

An option is to spray your choice of anti-bacterial/viral/fungal/thetan/... into the intake vents below the windscreen while running the air at various speeds with and without the air conditioning on for a sufficient time. For bonus points, do so with only one of each vent open to ensure that every air passage is liberally sprayed.
Opening doors, or at least windows, before starting this process is recommended unless you really like the aroma of the spray and/or also want to disinfect (and possibly damage) the entire interior of your car and anyone in it.

This has worked for me in similar circumstances when the continuous use of air conditioning in a humid environment resulted in retention of water and a musty smell. Advice to avoid this situation was/is to run the air fast with the air conditioning off for a while before turning off the car.

 

Thanks for the reply. Possible stupid question here: Did you do that with the cabin air filter in place or removed ?

I know Scotty Kilmer has videos on doing that exact thing and he uses Lysol. I was just thinking that doing the spray foam will at least grab onto a lot of junk that is on the evaporator (?) and wash it outside but maybe I'm trying to make this too difficult.